ABOUT US
PERMANENT STAFF
Eve Jourdain
Director & Principal scientist
Eve created Norwegian Orca Survey in 2014 as a plateform for data collection for her PhD. Her PhD studies focused on Norwegian orcas' diet and feeding behavior. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher on the MULTIWHALE project at the University of Oslo investigating diet, social behavior, population structure and effects of multiple stressors on this population's demographics. Eve is also the lead of fieldwork and the curator of the Norwegian Orca ID database.
Richard Karoliussen
Co-Director & Field investigator
Richard co-founded Norwegian Orca Survey together with Eve in 2014. Since, he has been dedicated to collecting the data and biological samples necessary to all ongoing and already completed studies. When Richard is not skippering the research boat, he is biopsy sampling or attaching multi-sensor tags to killer whales with suction cups. As an accomplished drone pilot, he also operates drones to collect aerial views of the whales for various research purposes.
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Clare Andvik
PhD candidate
Project: MULTIWHALE
Clare first volunteered with Norwegian Orca Survey in the summer of 2016, and has since been involved as both a master student and research assistant. Clare is now a PhD Candidate on the MULTIWHALE research project: a collaboration between the University of Oslo and Norwegian Orca Survey studying the effects of multiple stressors on Norwegian killer whales. Her focus is the levels and effects of pollution on individuals in the population, in conjunction with other human activities.
Master students
Project: MULTIWHALE
Carl Fagerlund and Stephanie Milne are both Master students at the University of Olso. Their research focus on orcas' diet and pathways of chemical contamination, from prey to orcas.
Project: NOS-Vestlandet
Emma Høgh Åslein and Amanda Falch are also Master students at the University of Oslo. Using prey data collected by the Institute of Marine Research and data on orca sightings from Norwegian Orca Survey, Emma and Amanda are researching on orca predation impact on prey populations in the inner fjords of Vestlandet.
AMBASSADORS &
ID-PHOTOGRAPHERS
Krisztina Balotay
ID-photographer in the north
Krisztina is a guide onboard whale watching cruises at Green Gold of Norway and a wildlife photographer. She is also a confirmed orca lover, which led her to create Orca Channel. Krisztina spends each winter season on sea observing and photographing whales. Keen on contributing to research and conservation of Norwegian orcas, she has shared her id-photos with Norwegian Orca Survey since 2015.
Marten Bril
ID-photographer in the north
Marten is the manager and skipper but also a talented wildlife photographer at Whale2Sea, a whale watching company based in Andenes. Marten spends most of his life at sea observing and photographing whales. Since 2013, Marten has contributed more than 50,000 photos to the orca ID-project. He is also chairman and investigator at the Norwegian Sperm Whale Research Foundation.
Vegard Åsen
ID-photographer NOS-Vestlandet
Vegard is an awarded Norwegian photographer specializing in wildlife and adventure sports. Vegard lives in Sogndal in Western Norway, where killer whales have frequented the fjords the last winters. As a wildlife photographer, he quickly gained interest in the new visitors and has contributed with ID photos to Norwegian Orca Survey since 2017. He is now a proud citizen scientist and a part of NOS-Vestlandet. Vegard's ultimate goal is to raise awareness and engagement for vulnerable nature through his images.
Olve Vaagø Erdal
ID-photographer NOS-Vestlandet
Olve was born and raised in Ulvik, in the Hardangerfjord. Passionate with nature and photography, he spends a lot of time outdoor. Olve has witnessed the recent pattern of orcas visiting the Hardangerfjord on a regular basis. Eager on learning more about who these whales are and wanting to contribute to their monitoring, Olve has contributed ID photos to Norwegian Orca Survey every year. He is now a key player in the ongoing porject NOS-Vestlandet.
Simon Johnsen
ID-photographer NOS-Vestlandet
Simon is an awarded wildlife photographer and filmmaker from the Hardangerfjord. Simon has been tracking the orcas each time they appeared in the region for the past years. To raise awareness of these beautiful animals, Simon created a local Facebook group where people can share their observations live, and thus, facilitate chances of locating the whales for others who want to observe them. Simon is part of the NOS-Vestlandet project.
Hannaleena Väisänen
ID-photographer in the north
Hannaleena is a guide and wildlife photographer at Arctic Whale Tours, a whale watching company based in Stø, Vesterålen. She has been spending much of her time at sea from the tropics in Australia to Northern Norway, where she's been contributing to the orca ID-catalogue since 2019. She's also working on her master thesis on sperm whale and Greenland halibut fishery interaction in Vesterålen
NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN
Many students and volunteers have contributed their time to orca research in Norway over the years. We thank them for helping with data collection in the field and/or data analysis: Elettra Giampaoletti, Alexa Hasselman, Inaki Aiz Purua Quiroga, Julie Mestre, Fabien Vivier, Tiffany Goh, Aimee Matika.